a blessing

Every Wednesday evening we have Awana up in Vancouver. After a long day of work, it can be challenging to get ourselves up there. I think especially for me because all day i work with challenging kids and then to put on that red sparky shirt, just seems exhausting(I'm very thankful that I have a patient husband that convinces me to get going). Our sparkies team ranges from having thirteen kids to down to five like last night. It's our 3rd year of being leaders together and we both agree that this is the most challenging group of kids we have.
BUT it also can be such a huge blessing and fresh breath of air. You sit there and listen to K-2nd graders recite verses and it's just great. Yes there are some kids that do it for the prizes but once and awhile you can get the kid excited about what he's reading and saying and it's just cool.

I could tell you a lot of stories but I'll share one about a Kindergartener on our team named Dara. She's a smart little gal that can read better then a lot of the 2nd graders. Well i was sitting with her and Kelsey during green meadow time (it's the lesson time where we sing songs and someone tells a bible story). Well they were talking about Heaven and I hear a little sigh and Dara says, " I can't wait to go to heaven and see Jesus." She had the most contented look on her face like you could only have if you meant it from deep in your heart. Her dad has told me that she lines up her barbies and leads them to Christ..telling them all her bible verses that she knows. It was just a blessing to hear that. After Awana we headed outside and the sky was perfect Peter Pan night..clear as could be. It was such a blessing, after a hard day. Every Wednesday it's hard to get there but 95% of the time it's a huge blessing.

My sister and I did Awana from Cubbies who are 3 and 4 yr olds up through JV which is Junior High. In the later years, game time is what i looked foward to most because sitting still was like torture. :) But I can remember a few leaders that truly made learning the bible fun..even back in the King James Version days. They would make it seem so alive and would challenge us to really learn what it meant and not just learn it for the awards, that wouldn't always mean something. It's so hard to be like that but also such a blessing when you see the kids get excited about something. I really challenge any one who's working with kids (Elementary through HS) to never just look at it as if it is a job but rather as privledge to share the most amazing gift to someone that, if no one else does, the Lord thinks is special. At least with the little kids, they have so much energy and zest for life that i truly pray some weeks it'll rub off on me.